Homemade cold brew coffee is really simple and cheap to make at home. Iced coffee and cold brew coffee are different things - Iced coffee is a regular shot of coffee made with hot water poured over ice, it can be quite bitter to taste and result in a watery drink (as the hot coffee melts some of the ice on impact, resulting in a diluted and watery drink). Cold brew coffee is ground coffee beans seeped in cold water for 12 - 24 hours and then strained. What you're left with is cold brew coffee concentrate - which makes a smoother chilled coffee with less acidity. It tends to be stronger as it's been brewed for longer so you'll still need to dilute it to serve (I suggest a 1:1 ratio of concentrate cold brew to either milk or water).
Time to prep : 10 minutes
Time to make : 12 - 24 hours
Makes : ~ 700ml cold brew concentrate (about 6 servings)
Ingredients & equipment:
Use a ratio of 1:3 cups coffee beans to water
Ground coffee beans (f1 cup is ~ 84g)
Filtered water (3 cups is ~ 750ml)
1 litre Cafetière/French press/large jar (to soak the cold brew)
1 litre container (to store the strained cold brew)
Fine mesh sieve, coffee filter, cheesecloth to strain
Method
In a large cafetière or jar, pour in the ground coffee beans and then add in the cold, filtered water. Stir it well with a spoon so that all the ground coffee is mixed with the water.
Cover and leave to soak for 12 - 24 hours either at room temperature or in the fridge. The longer you leave it the stronger it will be (but over 24 hours and it can get quite bitter).
Once it's ready, remove the cover and (if you're using a cafetière) put the plunger lid on and push down, pushing all the ground coffee to the base. Pour the cold brew concentrate into a large container through a fine metal sieve, coffee filter or cheesecloth - to sieve out any ground coffee and create a smooth cold brew. If you don't have a cafetière with a plunger then you might need to double-strain your cold brew.
And that's it! You've made cold brew concentrate. Keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To serve, dilute your concentrate 1:1 with water or milk. Serve by itself or over ice for a chilled, refreshing and smooth coffee.